Versus!
by Shakaku Gekkani
Summary: AU Six kids. Two bands. One battle! When the college Yuki, Kyo, Haru, Hana, Uo, and Tohru are attending hosts a Battle of the Bands, Decadence and Daisuke will duke it out for the top prize!


Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, "Whatsername" by Green Day, or "Tuesday Morning" by Michelle Branch. Deal. (lyrics included in the story are only parts of the songs)

A/N: As you can see, I'm taking a short break between the conclusion of "Loving them Equally" and its sequel. I decided to lift the mood of the majority of my stories and toss in some more humor! There'll be fluff galore, along with humor and band geekiness! I hope you guys enjoy Versus! (By the way… This fic takes place when the gang's in their 3rd year of college. That means they're 21.)

**Versus!**

**Chapter One : Decadence and Daisuke**

Five people were sitting around a picnic table, looking for someone.

"Maybe her class ran late- oh! There she is!" A blond girl was running to them, an over-stuffed backpack bouncing on her back. She had a flyer in her fist, and as soon as she fell panting onto the bench she began thrusting it into the faces of the others.

"Look! School's hosting a battle of the bands competition! It says that the prize is free ramen to the winning band… for a _year_!" This earned excited chatter from the other five. An orange-headed boy spoke up.

"That's cool. If one of us wins it, will the winner split the prize?" The blond brought her face close to the other boy's.

"On a cold day in hell." A brown haired girl pushed the two apart.

"Uo, Kyo! Don't fight. Of course we'll share!" Uo slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Fine, Tohru. We'll share. Alrighty, then! Listen up! Tohru, Hana, and I will meet at my house tonight at 5. Orangey, Prince, and Haru meet wherever the hell you want, just not at my place. See ya tonight, guys!"

-

Hatsuharu Sohma flopped onto the sofa. Yuki and Kyo, who were also sitting on the sofa, were jostled slightly by the other boy's weight. Kyo spoke first.

"What's up, Haru? You seem exhausted."

"I've got some bad news for you guys." Yuki turned to face the white-and-black haired boy.

"What is it?" He sighed.

"We don't have anywhere to practice. The people next to us got pissed that we practiced in here and called the landlord on us." Haru rubbed his temples to ward off an oncoming headache. Kyo clenched his fist.

"Dammit! This is our house! We can do whatever the hell we want to!" Yuki shook his head.

"Apparently not."

Yuki, Kyo, and Haru lived in a small (and rather decrepit) house right near where they were attending college.

"Where are we gonna practice now?" asked Kyo, exasperated.

"I'm gonna ask the girls about sharing their practice spot. They practice in Uo's garage. Lucky bitch! Her grandfather left her that house in his will! The house is huge! It's got a three-car garage, and the house is already paid off!" Kyo's eyes widened.

"Damn! Really?" Haru nodded.

"Well, hopefully they'll share. I'll approach it very lightly and be as nice as possible. We need somewhere to practice if we're gonna win the Battle of the Bands!"

-

It was five o'clock. Tohru, Hana, and Uo were sitting in Uo's house (which, out of the goodness of her heart, she shared with Hana and Tohru) listening to music while Hana fussed over Tohru's hair and Uo applied makeup. Half and hour later, the phone rang. Uo dug under a few piles of clothes until her hand finally surfaced with the phone.

"Hello? Oh, hey. Yup, we're ready. Where do you want to meet? Okay. Sure, we'll be right over." Uo hung up the phone and turned to her two friends.

"The boys are ready. We're gonna meet them in front of the Star." Hana nodded.

"Let's walk! It's very pleasant outside." Tohru smiled.

"Okay. We should be there in no time."

Fifteen minutes later, all six young adults met up outside of the well known music café the Star. Composing themselves, they walked in. The inside was a medium size room, small tables and chairs scattered throughout. At the far end of the room was a small stage that was currently occupied by five grad-school kids doing a cover for a Glay song.

Yuki pointed to a group of three tables to one side of the room that were empty. Everyone nodded and went to go sit down. As they sat and ordered dinner from the menus sitting on the tables, a bearded man came up to them.

"Are you performing tonight?" asked the man, placing his drink on one of their tables. Haru shrugged.

"None of us brought our gear. We just came to chill." The rest of the college students nodded. The man sighed heavily.

"Shame. I heard that there was a producer here…" Uo jumped up.

"Do you guys have spare instruments? We'll play!" Tohru drew her eyebrows together.

"Oh… I'm just now getting over a sore throat…" Tohru said, looking nervous.

"And I don't have my sticks! I can't play without my sticks!" Kyo exclaimed. Yuki stuck his hands in his pocket and pulled out a pick.

"At least I have my pick. I'll play. Kyo, you can live without your sticks for one night." Hana didn't say anything, just shrugged.

"Fine. Decadence'll play. Right, guys?" Haru said, looking at Yuki and Kyo. Both nodded an affirmative. The bearded man looked to the three girls.

"And Daisuke? Will you three play? Please?" Tohru, Hana, and Uo exchanged glances and a few whispers. Hana answered.

"Sure." The man clapped his hands happily.

"Good! There isn't anyone scheduled after these guys. We've got some extra gear in the back. Who wants to go first?"

"I'd like to warm up in the back for a few minutes, if that's okay. Can you guys go first?" Tohru said. Kyo nodded.

"Fine. Haru, Yuki? Is it okay if we go first?" The two boys nodded and stood. The man with the beard nodded.

"That'd be great. The extra gear is in the big closet and Kyo, you can use the drums on the stage already. Those are the house's set. Go on ahead, the guys on stage now are wrapping up."

Ten minutes later Kyo, Haru, and Yuki were up on the stage, tuning and whispering to each other.

"What do you guys want to play? None of our original stuff is ready yet. We can play one song," said Haru. Kyo spun the drumsticks between his fingers.

"Hmm… How about "Whatsername" by Green Day. We've got that song down pat. Just remember the bass line we stuck in there, Yuki," said the orange-haired boy.

"Yeah. That sounds cool," said Haru. Yuki nodded as he turned and plugged in the bass. Kyo sat down on his stool and Haru cleared his throat and grabbed the mic.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! We're Decadence, and we're gonna play "Whatsername" by Green Day." This was greeted by a few murmurs as Kyo played the intro. Yuki strummed at the bass and Haru began to sing.

"_Thought I ran in to you down on the street_

_Then it turned out to only be a dream_

_I made a point to burn all of the photographs_

_She went away and then I took a different path_

_I remember the face but I can't recall the name_

_Now I wonder how whatsername has been." _

Haru joined in on the guitar and scanned the crowd with his eyes. Tohru had gone into the back to warm up her voice but Hana and Uo were still sitting at a table, nodding their heads to the music. The song continued on; soon Kyo and Yuki's voices joined into the background and Haru's pick flew across the strings.

"_The regrets are useless_

_In my mind, she's in my head_

_The regrets are useless_

_In my mind, she's in my head"_

Kyo and Yuki chanted as Haru's voice grew in volume until his smooth tenor voice exploded into the microphone.

"_And in the darkest nights_

_If my memory serves me right_

_I'll never turn back time_

_Forgetting you but not the time!"_

Haru gasped for breath as Yuki strummed out the last few notes and Kyo tapped out the ending. Cheers and clapping roared from the people sitting at the tables as Haru took a water bottle from Hana and chugged it. He handed the water bottle back and bowed, unplugged the guitar, and walked offstage. Kyo put the sticks down by the drums, waved briefly to the onlookers and followed Haru off of the stage. Yuki just unplugged the bass and left, not bothering to bow.

Kyo wiped sweat from his brow as he walked over to Uo. "Those are nice drums. I think it's the same brand as yours," he said as punched Uo's shoulder lightly. "Nice sound." Uo grinned as she punched Kyo back, a good deal harder than he had.

"Good! Can't wait to beat on 'em!" The two drummers laughed as Uo jumped up onto the stage. Hana took the spare bass from Yuki and picked the amp cord up. Tohru sang a few more notes before she pulled an acoustic electric guitar from the closet and grabbed a glass of ice tea to put on the amp so she could take a sip after they finished. As Tohru tuned the guitar the girls decided on what song they wanted to play. It was unanimously decided that they play "Tuesday Morning" by Michelle Branch. Tohru took a quick sip of ice tea and walked towards the mic. She began talking, but a few people cupped their hands around their ears and shouted 'Can't hear you!" Tohru looked down at the mic, blushed, and turned it on.

"Sorry! Um, well, I'll start again. We are the band Daisuke and we are doing a cover of "Tuesday Morning" by Michelle Branch. I hope you guys like it!"

Tohru took a deep breath as she plucked at the guitar. When she began to sing the boys were just sitting down at the table closest to the stage. Yuki looked at Tohru and smiled. She saw the silver-haired boy's grin and smiled while she sang.

"_Please don't drive me home tonight_

'_Cuz I don't wanna feel in love_

_Please don't drive me home tonight_

'_Cuz I don't wanna go"_

Uo's hair swung gently side to side as she swayed to the beat, her eyes half-closed as if she was in a trance. The song had virtually no bass line, so Hana turned on another mic and added in a few 'ooh's in. Her thick wavy hair fell in front of her face, a strand or two of it fluttering as she sang.

"_I took your picture as you were sleeping_

_And then I paced around the room_

_If I had know then that these things happened_

_Would they have happened with you?"_

The audience tapped their toes as the song went on and the boys smiled little smiles and nodded their heads back and forth. As the song grew louder sweat appeared on Tohru's brow and her face tightened in an effort to get the notes out.

"_Tuesday morning in the dark_

_We were finding out who we are_

_Tuesday morning in the dark_

_We were finding out who we are, who we are_

_Who we are!_"

As the last chord faded away, claps and a few cheers came from the café's patrons. Decadence gave a few hoots and whistles as Tohru took a few sips of ice tea. With the glass still in her hand she gave a small bow. The glass tipped forward and spilled its contents all over the floor, barely missing the guitar. A few snickers and giggles were heard, and Tohru blushed furiously. The barkeep threw her a towel as she set down both glass and guitar and knelt to mop up her mess. Hana grabbed the guitar, stowed it back in the closet, and helped Tohru mop up the floor as Uo stood next to them and shook her head.

"You're such a ditz, Tohru," said the blonde girl, sighing heavily. Tohru made a small smiled and rose to give the towel back. Yuki took the sopping wet towel from her and smiled softly.

"I'll get it. You did a great job, Miss Honda." Tohru blushed yet again.

"Th-hank you. You did a great job too," Tohru blurted out as she clambered down from the stage, trying desperately not to trip lest she embarrass herself again. She made it down to the floor without so much as a wobble. Yuki looked up at the clock.

"It's getting late. Would you like me to drive you home? I think the others are going to stay late, and you look tired. Wouldn't want you to miss school or catch a cold, Miss Honda." Tohru shook her head vigorously.

"Oh, no! I'm sure you want to stay, I don't want to be a burden or –" Yuki put a finger to her lips and she silenced.

"It's okay. I'm not going to stay much later anyway. I would like to drive you home. Besides, it's quite dark outside." Tohru glanced out of the window. It was black as pitch.

"Well, okay. Thank you so much, Yuki!" He smiled as he handed the bartender his towel.

"You're very welcome."

-

The night wore on as Haru approached Uo. A beer was in her hand, and she was feeling pretty good.

"Hey, Uo." She took another sip and turned to Haru.

"Whut?"

"Well, you see, we don't have a place to practice. Decadence, I mean. The people next door call the landlord on us." Uo raised her eyebrow.

"Really?"

"That's where you come in. Since you have such a big space, we want to know if we can share with you. Just until we find somewhere else to practice, of course." Uo gave an exaggeratedly large nod.

"I see… Well, I guess so. But, if you win the Battle, you have to share your loot." Uo stuck out her hand to shake. Haru took it and squeezed it firmly.

"Agreed."

A/N: Whoaz. That was a really long chapter. I think that's the longest chapter I've ever written. But, yeah. I'm having fun with this one. I think it'll turn out okay.

And about Loving them Equally…

I've started an epilogue, but I'm having trouble with the sequel. Give me some time…

And about Telescope Eyes…

Can you people READ? It's a ONE SHOT! Gawd. Stop harassing me to write more. I'll write more if I want to. And I don't want to write more to that now. Sheesh.


End file.
